Calves are born with a relatively immature immune system and, in particular, pre-weaned calves are susceptible to infectious pathogens that may be spread by the air-borne, fecal-oral or calf-to-calf transmission routes. Because transmission of enteric pathogens in calves is primarily through animal to animal contact, it has become common practice to isolate calves from others to reduce the risk of infectious diseases.
It is important, however, to have appropriate housing isolation units to maintain a positive effect on the growth, health and well-being of a diary calf. Good design can provide a healthy environment that reduces environmental stress. For example, high levels of moisture, pollutants and air-borne pathogens may lead to respiratory problems that have long term effects. Thus, there has been an on-going need for management environments that provide calves with a clean, dry, well-ventilated space, especially in locations that may experience severe fluctuations in temperature.
Several attempts have been made to provide appropriate housing for calves. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,245 provides a rigid pen, including an outer frame defining an open floor attached to a motorized vehicle. The vehicle is operated to raise the pen off the ground and deliver the raised pen to an area at which the calf and the mother cow are located. The vehicle then positions the raised pen over the calf. Finally, the pen is lowered such that the calf is inside of the pen and the mother cow is outside of the pen. The calf, in the pen, can then be housed in a manner in which the handler has access without interference from the mother.
United States Patent application 20070178525 provides methods for managing livestock to improve performance and health of the general livestock population by reducing the impact of subclinical animals persistently infected with a contagious disease by separating animals into arrival groups, screening all animals for the pathogen of the contagious disease, promptly removing the pathogen positive animals from the general livestock population and feeding and managing the pathogen negative animals and pathogen positive animals separately. In preferred embodiments, the pathogen positive animals are removed from their arrival group within about 1.5-3 days after arrival. In preferred embodiments, the method of the present invention is applied in a cattle operation such as a seedstock operation, a cow-calf operation, a stocker operation, a backgrounding operation, a feedlot operation, a dairy operation, a farm of origin, such as a dairy farm, an auction facility, a gathering point or a buyer facility.
Another type of calf housing system is marketed by Calf-Tel for Hampel products that can be used to house calves. While the Calf-Tel hutches provide a useful alternative to other types of hutches, they do not provide for adjustability as the calf grows.
Thus, there was an unmet need for a calf housing system that addresses the requirements for good ventilation, isolation, disease reduction and adjustability in farm management practices.